The Ushuaia Entertainment Breakup. Fake Or Real News?
The Blog had picked up on the story and published our report at 21.04, less than 20 minutes before the TNL “Fake News” communique was relayed. We requested a direct quote from Mr Pissenem to address the article’s serious accusations, but he declined to respond. It was the following day before Mr Pissenem indirectly criticised the report via his TNL social media account. Unlike his Ushuaia Entertainment partner, Abel Matutes, he did not denounce the article on his personal social media accounts. Perhaps he did not want to give more oxygen to the article, or possibly was caught off guard by its publication. Still, by failing to address the article directly, TNL left the door slightly ajar, allowing the story to gain momentum.
I have been writing about Ibiza club politics and culture since I first published the DannyKayIbiza blog in 2004. I arrived on the island’s shores in 1996, when house and trance music were in vogue. I was at Amnesia when Sven Väth launched Ibiza’s first Techno party, Cocoon, in 1999, and I experienced the rise and fall of the iconic club Space. I also noted the arrival of Yann Pissenem to Playa den Bossa beach in 2008, around the same time Grupo Matutes was reassessing its business partnership with Pepe Rosello. Abel Matutes Prats was venturing into the clubbing sector and implementing his vision for a luxury-driven hotel/club business model. His father, Abel Matutes Juan, was unsure of his son’s vision and remained unconvinced that it was the right way forward for a company that predominantly operated family hotels.
To achieve Abel Jnr’s new vision, Grupo Matutes required experienced hands to manage its interests in the clubbing and nightlife sector. They had hoped Pepe Rosello could be the person, but those negotiations did not work out. Instead, a deal was done with Yann Pissenem, a young Frenchman who had cut his teeth on the Barcelona nightlife circuit and was making waves and attracting big crowds to his fresh new beach club, which he had named Ushuaia, in reference to its location at the end of Playa den Bossa beach. Ushuaia is a resort in Argentina, located on the southernmost tip of South America, hence its nickname, the “End of the World.”
It was Abel Matutes Juan who headhunted Yann Pissenem to help deliver his son and heir’s vision after Abel jnr convinced the board of Grupo Matutes to invest over €200 million into the luxury entertainment market, giving birth to the Ushuaia Experience concept. It was a ballsy move by the young man who had graduated from the University of Madrid with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. In a few short years, he had substantially increased the family’s fortunes. In 2024, Abel Matutes Prats oversaw a record turnover of 1.2 billion euros for the Paladium Hotel Group. He is currently investing in real estate projects on the Coata del Sol with tennis ace Rafa Nadal.
After an extensive refurbishment of the old Fiesta Club Playa Hotel Playa den Bossa, it reopened as Ushuaia Beach Hotel in 2011 with acts like Swedish House Mafia and Luciano booked to play. Abel Matutes Jr.’s vision was an overnight success with Ants redefining the daytime party scene when it was launched in 2013. It was cool and trendy, thanks to Pissenems’ Gallic style and the relationships TNL were building with DJs.
The Spanish Franco alliance was unbeatable, growing stronger with each passing year, and within a decade, it had become the dominant force on the Ibiza clubbing scene. Its crowning glory came this year when Ushuaia Entertainment opened UNVRS on the site of the old KU/Privilege clubs, which had nurtured the island’s rich and diverse musical heritage. It was a spectacular stage delivered with aplomb by the Pissenem Brothers and their TNL and Highscream teams. This state of the art and artistic experience has set the benchmark for the clubbing industry to follow.
As Ushuaia Entertainment basked in the glory of a job well done, that joy was short-lived, as the Global Cronica breakup article, which appeared less than two weeks after the celebratory UNVRS closing party on October 12, brought an end to those celebrations. The timing and motive behind its publication are key to understanding what may be happening here. One thing I have observed over the past three decades of studying Ibiza’s culture and politics is that nothing is ever as it seems.
Ask those working in print or TV media, and they will suggest that the majority of programs and newspaper articles are agenda-driven. They are paid advertisements designed to influence opinion, sell a story, or promote a product. Investigative journalists are an endangered species as print and TV companies become propaganda outlets for those who sponsor their production. Funding is required to pay the bills, and im afraid real Public Service journalism is a thing of the past.
Cronica Global, the media outlet that published the Matutes/Pisenem article, is based in Barcelona. According to Wikipedia, “Its editorial profile is liberal centre, as well as constitutionalist, and is labelled as a defender of ‘anti-nationalist positions’ and as a ‘unionist”. It’s not your typical red-top publication linked to leading Spanish media outlet El Español, based in Madrid. The story appearing in Cronica Global would add weight to its content, and to date, the article remains live on its platform; it has not been removed. This would lead one to question the motive behind its publication. While both Mr Matutes and TNL have denied the story, the fact that the article saw the light of day is what has raised eyebrows on the island. It appears that someone has an agenda to shake the Ushuaia Entertainment tree to see what falls out. So who are the main suspects? I have narrowed it down to three.
One. The newspaper, via investigative journalism, actively sourced the story and published the article independently.
Two. A competitor or enemy of Ushuaia Entertainment leaked the story to cause it reputational damage.
Three. One of the two main protagonists leaked the story as a kite flying exercise.
I would doubt it’s the first option; so my guess is that it’s either two or three. I have a suspicion which one of the two it is, but some more time will disclose all. I would agree with Mr Matutes and TNL’s assertion that the main thrust of the story and its claims are “Fake News” I remain to be convinced that there is nothing to see here; I don’t buy into the view that harmony and peace are the prevailing conditions at Ushuaia Entertainment. If they were, this story would not have been published in the first place.
Over the 14 years I have observed Ushuaia Entertainment in operation, one thing that has consistently set it apart from its counterparts in Ibiza has been its ability to protect the privacy of its internal business affairs. The blog has always traded on information, news stories, and rumours about Ibiza clubs, DJs, and more. You would be surprised at how openly some people discuss their competitors’ business affairs in Ibiza, and how easily that information can be gathered. With Ushuaia Entertainment, it was a closed shop; they were experts at keeping their business to themselves—a trait common to the Matutes family, well known for not airing their dirty laundry in public. So to have a story of this magnitude leak to the press—and the national media at that—is “no normal,” as they would say in Ibiza.
Based on my experience, the relationship between the Ushuia Entertainment partners has been rock-solid for the past 13 years. The only blip that I noticed was during the rebranding of the Ushuaia Tower to The Unexpected Hotel a year ago. The Hotel carried the Ushuaia branding but did not employ TNL’s bespoke music programming or social media management. It was the first time that TNL did not have an input into how the Ushuaia Brand was managed. Another development was the absence of TNL’s music programming at Playa Soliel last season, a role it had held since it opened.
These movements suggest the start of a separation of the Ushuaia brand and logo from their association with nightlife, toward its use adorning the doors of the Paladium Hotel Group. Similar to the Space trademark, it would appear Grupo Matutes has the right to use the Ushuaia Brand outside of the Ushuaia Entertainment partnership. TNL received over 35 million euros in dividends from its share in Ushuaia Entertainment last year, so the stakes are high for both parties.
It’s an inherent Ibicenco trait to hire outside talent and skills to help build their businesses. Once those skills are learned, adopted and implemented, that talent can be replaced with a more flexible and cost-efficient option. Another well-known Ibicenco trait is the Matutes family’s business prowess. It’s unknown for the family to come out on the losing side of a business deal in Ibiza. They are honest brokers but as wily as a fox in business dealings. The family was included in the Forbes list of the 100 richest people in Spain this year at numer 86 with an estimated fortune of 600 million euro. If Ibiza had a Royal Family, the Matutes would be it. It’s their island, and the family is on the verge of becoming a dynasty there. To be in partnership with the Matutes in Ibiza is akin to receiving a Royal Warrant. That warrant can be revoked at any time. Ask Pepe Rosello and others what happens if you fall out of fashion in the Royal Court.
The Matutes/TNL partnership will be entering its 16th season next year. It’s been the most successful partnership I have ever witnessed on the island. I have a lot of respect for TNL; their professionalism, skill, and talent have been instrumental in elevating Ibiza to a new level in the clubbing scene. I would not want to replace them, but like any employee, they are replaceable. The impressive technological stage TNL has built and designed at UNVRS is, by its nature, fully automated. Artificial Intelligence is replacing humans. I would guess that the DJs currently playing at UNVRS and HI care more about getting paid than who pays them. The Matutes Group own the buildings and real estate assets, and TNL manage the operations within them. If I were the CEO of TNL, and the Matutes offered me a buyout clause, would I take it? I would bite their hand off for it.
About the Cronica Global story, I believe there is no smoke without fire. On the surface, it may seem like fake news, but in my experience, something doesn’t feel right. In Ibiza, that could mean several things, as there is always a bigger shark lurking in the shadows. They say time discloses all, and I would take an educated guess that come this time next year, the political landscape of the Ibiza clubbing scene will be in the process of shapeshifting, if it hasn’t started already.
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